EU court lifts sanctions on former Ozon CEO Shulgin

The European Court of General Jurisdiction, based in Luxembourg, has ruled to lift sanctions against former Ozon CEO Alexander Shulgin. About it testify data in the court file.

The meeting was held on September 6th. It follows from the decision that the court lifted the EU sanctions imposed against Shulgin in April 2022. At the same time, the restrictions will continue to apply until the deadline for filing an appeal or until the end of its consideration.

As arguments for removing the businessman from the sanctions list, the defense referred to “violation of the right to effective judicial protection” and erroneous motives for imposing restrictions. In particular, Shulgin pointed to the vagueness of the criteria that led to his inclusion in the sanctions list, and denied that his activities are related to sectors of the economy that bring significant income to the Russian government.

The Council of the EU imposed personal sanctions against Shulgin on April 8, 2022. According to the European authorities, he is a “leading businessman” in the country. Another reason was the presence of Shulgin at the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Russian business in the Kremlin on February 24, 2022. The EU considered that the fact of the participation of a businessman in this meeting means support for Russia’s policy towards Ukraine.

At the time of the imposition of sanctions, the entrepreneur served as CEO of Ozon. April 11 Shulgin left his post and resigned from the board of directors of the company. Later, the Council of the EU adjusted the wording in the justification for the sanction, specifying that Shulgin is the former head of Ozon.